Center Stage: Magnolia Steele Mystery, Book 1

Ten years ago, Magnolia Steele fled Franklin, Tennessee, after an incident that left her with hazy memories and a horror of the place where she had been born and bred. Though her abrupt departure destroyed most of her treasured relationships, she vowed never to return...until she has no choice. When Magnolia's breakout acting role in a Broadway musical ends in disgrace, there's only one place she can go. She finds herself on her momma's porch, suitcase in hand.

Turbo Twenty-Three: A Stephanie Plum Novel, Book 23

Larry Virgil skipped out on his latest court date after he was arrested for hijacking an eighteen-wheeler full of premium bourbon. Fortunately for bounty hunter Stephanie Plum, Larry is just stupid enough to attempt almost the exact same crime again. Only this time he flees the scene, leaving behind a freezer truck loaded with Bogart ice cream and a dead body—frozen solid and covered in chocolate and chopped pecans.

Curious Minds: A Knight and Moon Novel

Emerson Knight is introverted and eccentric and has little to no sense of social etiquette. Good thing he's also brilliant, rich, and (some people might say) handsome, or he'd probably be homeless. Riley Moon has just graduated from Harvard Business and Harvard Law. Her aggressive Texas spitfire attitude has helped her land her dream job as a junior analyst with megabank Blane-Grunwald. At least Riley Moon thought it was her dream job, until she is given her first assignment: babysitting Emerson Knight.

Indemnity Only

In this gripping adventure - the first V.I. Warshawski mystery - America’s top private eye is tossed into a dangerous adventure when a seemingly straightforward assignment becomes complicated and deadly. Hired by a man who calls himself John Thayer, V.I.’s assignment is to find Thayer’s son Peter’s missing girlfriend. But when V.I. finds young Peter’s dead body instead, her client disappears.

The Wrong Side of Goodbye: A Harry Bosch Novel, Book 21

Harry Bosch is California's newest private investigator. He doesn't advertise, he doesn't have an office, and he's picky about who he works for, but it doesn't matter. His chops from 30 years with the LAPD speak for themselves. Soon one of Southern California's biggest moguls comes calling. The reclusive billionaire has less than six months to live and a lifetime of regrets. He hires Bosch to find out whether he has an heir.

Nine Lives

It's New Year's Eve. A major terrorist cell is planning a series of attacks across London over the next 48 hours. The government has surveillance on the group, a man undercover, and prepare to move in, to take out the terrorists before they can strike. But they lose contact with their inside man. And the cell vanishes into thin air, dispersing into the streets, armed and intent on completing their assault on London. The best counterterrorist teams in the country are told to take them down before it's too late.

One for the Money: A Stephanie Plum Novel, Book 1

You’ve lost your job as a department store lingerie buyer, your car’s been repossessed, and most of your furniture and small appliances have been sold off to pay last month’s rent. Now the rent is due again. And you live in New Jersey. What do you do? If you’re Stephanie Plum, you become a bounty hunter. But not just a nickel-and-dime bounty hunter; you go after the big money. That means a cop gone bad. And not just any cop. She goes after Joe Morelli, a disgraced former vice cop who is also the man that took her virginity....

Assault and Pepper: Spice Shop Mystery Series, Book 1

After leaving a dicey marriage and losing a beloved job in a corporate crash, Pepper Reece has found a new zest for life running a busy spice and tea shop in Seattle's Pike Place Market. Her aromatic creations are the talk of the town, and everyone stops by for a cup of her refreshing spice tea, even other shopkeepers and market regulars. But when a panhandler named Doc shows up dead on the store's doorstep, a Seattle Spice Shop cup in his hand, the local gossip gets too hot for Pepper to handle.

The Whistler

Lacy Stoltz is an investigator for the Florida Board on Judicial Conduct. She is a lawyer, not a cop, and it is her job to respond to complaints dealing with judicial misconduct. After nine years with the board, she knows that most problems are caused by incompetence, not corruption. But a corruption case eventually crosses her desk. A previously disbarred lawyer is back in business with a new identity. He now goes by the name Greg Myers, and he claims to know of a Florida judge who has stolen more money than all other crooked judges combined.

Cross the Line: Alex Cross, Book 24

Shots ring out in the early morning hours in the suburbs of Washington, DC. When the smoke clears, a prominent police official lies dead, leaving the city's police force scrambling for answers. Under pressure from the mayor, Alex Cross steps into the leadership vacuum to crack the case. But before Cross can make any headway, a brutal crime wave sweeps across the region. The deadly scenes share only one common thread: The victims are all criminals.

Bundle of Trouble: A Maternal Instincts Mystery, Book 1

Kate Connelly may have found the perfect work-from-home Mommy job: private investigator. After all, the hours are flexible, she can bring the baby along on stake-outs, and if you’re going to be up all night anyway, you might as well solve some crimes. But when a body is pulled from San Francisco Bay that may be her brother-in-law, Kate must crack the case faster than you can say “diaper rash” in order to keep her family together.

An Obvious Fact

In the midst of the largest motorcycle rally in the world, a young biker is run off the road and ends up in critical condition. When Sheriff Walt Longmire and his good friend, Henry Standing Bear, are called to Hulett, Wyoming - the nearest town to America's first national monument, Devils Tower - to investigate, things start getting complicated.

Flesh and Blood: Alex Delaware, Book 15

Perennial and acknowledged master of the psychological thriller Jonathan Kellerman has created a riveting and memorable Alex Delaware novel about a troubled and elusive young woman whose brutal murder forces the brilliant psychologist-detective to confront his own fallibility.

Excelsior

The year is AD 2790. With space elevators and giant orbital fleets hovering over Earth, open war looks inevitable, and people are anxious to get away. The lines are drawn, with the Confederacy in the East and the First World Alliance in the West. In hopes of finding a refuge from the looming war, the Alliance is sending Captain Alexander de Leon to explore an Earth-type planet, code-named Wonderland, but at the last minute before launch, a Confederate fleet leaves orbit on a trajectory that threatens both the mission and Alliance sovereignty.

The Walk

It's one minute after the Big One. Marty Slack, a TV executive, crawls out from under his Mercedes, parked outside what once was a downtown Los Angeles warehouse. Downtown LA is in ruins. The sky is thick with smoke. His cell phone is dead. The freeways are rubble. It will be days before help can arrive. Marty has been expecting this day all his life. He's prepared. He knows there is only one thing he can do... that he must do: get home to his wife, Beth.

The Trial: A BookShot: A Women's Murder Club Story

An accused murderer called Kingfisher is about to go on trial for his life. Or is he? By unleashing unexpected violence on the lawyers, jurors, and police involved in the case, he has paralyzed the city. Detective Lindsay Boxer and the Women's Murder Club are caught in the eye of the storm.

Publisher's Summary

In 1982, Sue Grafton introduced us to Kinsey Millhone. Thirty years later, Kinsey is an established international icon and Sue is a number-one best-selling author. To mark this anniversary year, Sue has given us stories that reveal Kinsey's origins and Sue's past.

Kinsey and Me has two parts: The nine Kinsey stories (1986-93), each a gem of detection, and the "And Me" stories, written in the decade after Grafton's mother died. Together, they show just how much of Kinsey is a distillation of her creator's past, even as they reveal a child who, free of parental interventions, read everything and roamed everywhere. But the dark side of such freedom was that very parental distance.

The same feisty voice and witty apercus readers fell in love with in A Is for Alibi permeate the Kinsey stories. Those in the "And Me" section trace a remarkable voyage, from anger to understanding, from pain to forgiveness. They take us into a troubled family, dysfunctional as most families are, each in their own way, but Grafton's telling is sensitive, delicate, and ultimately, loving. Enriching the way we see Kinsey and know Sue, these stories are deeply affecting.

What the Critics Say

"I've come to believe that Grafton is not only the most talented woman writing crime fiction today but also that, regardless of gender, her Millhone books are among the five or six best series any American has ever written." (Patrick Anderson, The Washington Post)

This book was advertised as a collection of short stories about Kinsey and a collection of stories and insights by Grafton. It fulfilled what it advertised. I enjoyed the Kinsey short stories, and she quickly solved each crime. I found it insightful regarding the section Grafton wrote about the mystery stories and what it means to her and the readers. I also enjoyed the section about her father and his lessons on writing. I did not care for the last part of the book when she discussed the alcoholism of her parents and the death of her mother. I am retired from the health profession and have seen just to much of that story over and over again to want to read about it. Overall this book did provide insight into Grafton and her creation of Kinsey. I am always interested in how a writer goes about their creation of a story. Overall I think most people will enjoy this book, but mentally you have to step back from the alphabet mystery series. Judy Kaye did a good job with the narration.

I love Sue Grafton's books. This new book is OK but not quite up to the level of her mysteries. Sue gave an accounting of her childhood and how it affected her emotional and social development as well as that of her main character Kinsey Milhone. It does account for many aspeccts of Kinsey's life as basically a self sufficient survivor and I suspect this accounts for her profession of private investigator and as such she is reliable, dependable and does what she must to take care of herself and resolve whatever case she's taken on!

What was one of the most memorable moments of Kinsey and Me?

How Sue's mother's and father's adjustment to life and the problems it presented to them affected how their daughters and how they later dealt with their own lives.

What does Judy Kaye bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I really enjoy the “alphabet series”; the books are a guaranteed hit for me every time. I love Sue Grafton’s writing style; her dry wit and sarcasm are great! but I am not so sure the short-story format is the best for murder mysteries. It felt like Kinsey was solving a new murder everyday … it was too fast, too quick, too unrealistic (yes I know its fiction).

As for the “Me” section, it didn't do much for me. No disrespect intended because I know these are very personal stories for Sue – but they didn't hold my interest.

I would have liked to have had the short stories more complete. It seems like the book is made up of story ideas the author started and never finished. And that is how some of the short stories end, right in the middle of the story as if she never finished it, but sent it in to be included in this book. I thought there was a problem with my audio player. Did it just skip to the next story in the middle of the current one? I also expected more about the early life of Kinsey: her childhood, time in the police force, etc., But there was little of that. Also, I agree with other reviewers that the second part of book with stories about a character based on Sue Grafton's life were probably cathartic to her, but not very interesting to the reader.

Has Kinsey and Me turned you off from other books in this genre?

No, I still enjoy the whole Kinsey Millhone series and detective genre.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Judy Kaye?

Yes. The first 14 Kinsey Millhone books were read by another narrator, Mary Peiffer, who I really enjoyed. Then it took me awhile to get used to Judy Kaye. Especially when a book series is written in the first person, you get to know a narrator as the character and don't like changes. But Judy Kaye has now become Kinsey Millhone. The narrator could only read what she had to work with.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

It was an OK book to tide you over until the next full alphabet detective book by Sue Grafton.... W is for ???

I have no idea why this book was ever written. It feels like "outtakes" -- the weaker Kinsey Milhone short stories that lack the quirky charm of Sue Grafton's full-length books, followed by grim, graphic autobiographical passages that read like private journal entries that should never have been aired. I thought her memoirs would relate in some way to her books and lead character but that's not the case. They are sad, depressing anecdotes about her alcoholic parents, mother's suicide, failed marriages. Judy Kaye is the reader so that part works, but she really didn't have much to go on here. I love the alphabet mysteries but this one's a turkey.

Overall I was pleasantly surprized by this book. I always wondered what Kinsey did between her longer tales, and now it feels like we have been given a glimpse into those corners of her life.Normally I can guess who the wrong-doer is in most mystery fiction and so was pleased that there were a few twists that I was surprized by.

On the "Me" side of the book, I'll admit I wasn't as interested and stopped listening. I will probably go back to these stories in the future, but I found the dramatic change in tone a bit jarring after the Kinsey stories.

ONE BIG COMPLAINT: the story called "Full Circle" isn't complete. The audio cuts off and moves on to the next chapter/story. I double checked it against a print copy of the book and sure enough there is more to the story. I have tried to delete and download several times with no change. Hopefully this will be corrected for future listeners.

Grafton's stories have always been so well laid out, creating an enjoyable read. The short stories were ok but, being short, didn't have enough substance to show how Kinsey gets from A to B to Conclusion. But that's ok, too, because she made them fun - except for the one she abruptly ended without a solution.

What I consider poorly laid out about this book is that it is in two parts, the short PI stories followed by the bummer Kit Blue stories. I appreciate Grafton's wanting to tell the Blue stories, giving us an insight to her life, but I wish the book had been laid out in three parts (PI shorts - Blue - more PI shorts) so that it could begin and end on an enjoyable note. I found myself wishing it would just end already.

Misery can be entertainingly written; the best example being Angela's Ashes. I would have expected the sad Kit Blue stories to have more of a McCourt bent to the writing. I could imagine Kinsey finding a laughable or ironic moment if she lived Kit's life. But maybe Grafton needed Kit as a release to unload those sad moments. The choice was hers.

I will say that, after reaching Z, if Grafton starts a Kit Blue series, I don't think I could bring myself to read them - even if the fabulous Judy Kaye reads them.